...Labour Office said on Thursday it expected a further decline in May. The unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in March, according to Labour Office statistics of people registered as unemployed but able to start work shortly. "GDP growth dynamics are creating conditions for employment growth, and the business environment is also gradually improving," said Vladimir Hasko, head of the Labour Office's research department. Preliminary data showed the Slovak economy rose by real 8.9 percent in the first quarter of 2007, which was less than market expectations of a double digit rise but still one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union. "We expect the unemployment rate to decline further in May," Hasko said, adding seasonal work was also helping to hold down the jobless rate. Slovakia's unemployment rate has fallen steadily from around 20 percent four years ago after the former centre-right government cracked down on abuses of the welfare system. Foreign direct investment has also helped create new jobs. The fall in the unemployment rate bodes well for leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose agenda focuses on improving social conditions for the poor. But analysts said some of Fico's plans, such as the proposed labour code changes giving more protection to workers and strengthening union rights, could hurt the flexibility of the job market and slow job creation in the longer term.
[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]